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I have created this page to provide links to some of the most useful articles and tools available on this website for people considering Property Refurbishment as a way to earn a living or to grow their pot of money to use as deposits for buy to let.

I spent most of yesterday with a lovely couple from Luton who emailed me asking for some guidance. After exchanging several emails we decided to meet and they came over to Norfolk. They have six buy to let properties at the moment, a decent liquidity fund and plenty of equity in properties. They wanted advice on how to get into property refurbishment. Read More

We receive hundreds of readers emails and telephone calls every month, the vast majority require contacts to arrange funding, hence this article which explores six very different strategies of financing property refurbishment projects.Read more

The development of bungalows has slowed massively over the last 40 years or so due to the rising costs of land. Developers can build at least double the number of townhouses on a street compared to detached bungalows and that’s the reason they are not so keen to build them. However, the baby-boomers are now reaching retirement age and as their bones and muscles start to creak, due to the onset of old age, a bungalow is often a consideration for them. They may well be looking to downsize at this stage of their lives so demand is high and supply isn’t, that’s always a recipe for making money. Read more

With so many buy to let property investors now considering buy/refurb/sell deals I feel the time is right to explain the tax treatment of property development vs property investment. For example, did you know that buy/refurb/sell deals are taxed as a trade (property development) and CGT annual exemptions can not be claimed on disposal? Read more

Experience has taught me that numbers alone should not form my decision. Over the years I have learned to trust ‘gut feel’. The numbers only tell part of the story because they are just numbers. They do not take account of local markets or micro economies. Intuition can be developed through experience. The more deals you do the more intuitive you become. Sure you will make some mistakes but you will learn from them. If you don’t have financial reserves then the answer is more likely to be that you should take the bird in hand and create financial reserves. Read more

In the video Yemi Edun purchases a property just three minutes from The Angel Tube Station in London’s Islington N1 at auction for £278,000. The refurbishment, which one of his colleagues (Adeola) arranged, ends up costing £13,500 which is remarkable when you see what his team managed to achieve for that amount and within such a short timescale. Two estate agents valued the property post refurbishment at an average value of £345,000. The associated fees were not disclosed, however, the profit on capital invested (net of fees) was in the region of £53,500. The flat was subsequently let for £470 a week (£24,440 per annum). Based on costs (net of fees) that equates to a yield of over 8% - in a prime London location! Now that good going!!! Read more

Putting a freshly cut onion in roughly the centre of a room whilst painting and after you have decorated will get rid of the smell of fresh paint a lot quicker. Give it a try, it really does work, not by masking the smell of paint with the smell of onions either. I’m no scientist so I can’t explain how or why this works but somehow the onion will absorb the smells. Apparently fresh cut onions will get rid of the smell of smoke too, both very useful tips for landlords. Read more

Mark began investing into property in 1989, since then has has developed a substantial property investment portfolio which now provides the majority of his income. Mark was the founder of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers and was also the founder and Managing Director of the UK’s most successful finance brokerage ever to serve landlords - the business ranked #38 in The Sunday Times Profit Track 100 in 2008.